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Accountant career guide
An Accountant is a financial professional who analyses transactions and delivers accurate reporting to guide strategic commercial decisions.
The role
What does an Accountant do?
Accountants prepare statutory tax returns, manage month-end reporting and provide commercial analysis to help organisations maintain financial control.
In public practice or commercial teams, you oversee core balance sheet reconciliations and month-end close routines. Collaborating with business leaders, you translate complex financial records into practical management reports. Across hybrid and office settings, your focus centres on refining reporting workflows while guiding teams on regulatory compliance.
Process improvement and automation features in 49% of Accountant job listings, showing that employers prize modern system skills alongside core technical expertise.
Day-to-day
Tasks and duties
From lodging Business Activity Statements (BAS) to building commercial forecasts, the core responsibilities Accountants own most consistently are:
- Process improvement and automation
- Audit preparation and liaison
- BAS preparation and lodgement
- Monthly management reporting
- Month-end close activities
- Financial statement preparation
- Balance sheet reconciliations
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Payroll processing and reconciliation
- Income tax return preparation
- Mentoring junior staff
- Bank reconciliations
- Fixed asset register maintenance
- Accounts payable processing
- FBT return preparation
Based on real Accountant job listings posted on Employment Hero over the past 3 months, filtered to the tasks, skills and requirements most consistently and genuinely relevant to the role.
Getting in
How to become an Accountant
Graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce or Business provides the technical groundwork in taxation and financial reporting. Enrolling in a CPA or CA postgraduate program gives you the recognised qualification most employers look for.
Entering finance as an Accounts Assistant or Accounts Officer builds hands-on familiarity with ledgers and reconciliations. Transitioning into an Assistant Accountant or Bookkeeper role allows you to take ownership of month-end tasks while finishing your studies.
Joining a structured graduate program while completing your degree offers hands-on mentorship and broad operational exposure. Many employers in commerce and public practice sponsor your CA or CPA fees while you gain practical hours.
Open roles
What you need
Skills and experience
From sharp variance analysis to advanced financial modelling, with most mid-level roles expecting two to five years of experience, the skills and experience Accountants bring to the role most consistently are:
- Attention to detail
- Public practice experience
- Stakeholder management
- Not-for-profit sector experience
- SME and family group accounting
- Knowledge of Australian accounting standards
- Variance analysis
- Commercial awareness
- Agribusiness sector experience
- Financial modelling
- Division 7A knowledge
- Capital Gains Tax (CGT) knowledge
- Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) knowledge
- ERP implementation experience
- Hospitality industry experience
Tech stack
Tools and software
From cloud accounting platforms like Xero to specialist compliance software like BGL CAS360, the tools and resources Accountants rely on most consistently are:
Required
Preferred
Microsoft Excel (Advanced) appears in 56% of Accountant job listings as an essential requirement.
Career path
Career progression
Professional credentials like the CPA or CA designation open up senior reporting and commercial advisory roles. Developing deep expertise in Australian accounting standards and business automation accelerates your readiness for management. Once you master commercial strategy and team leadership, transitioning into executive positions becomes an achievable target.
Looking ahead
Future-proofing and AI impact
These are the responsibilities that keep Accountants irreplaceable:
- Advising business owners on complex tax structures and Division 7A compliance
- Translating financial anomalies into strategic commercial guidance for leadership
- Navigating nuanced stakeholder negotiations during annual audit reviews
- Mentoring junior team members and building high-performing finance functions
The tasks Accountants are increasingly being supported by technology on:
- Extracting invoice data and processing routine accounts payable
- Automating rule-based bank and general ledger reconciliations
- Generating standard monthly compliance schedules and draft tax forms
- Collating transactional data for periodic financial statement drafts
Reality check
Common myths about this role
Accountants spend all day manually entering data and crunching numbers.
Modern software automates routine processing, allowing Accountants to focus on strategic analysis, commercial advisory and business partnering.
You need a purely mathematical background to succeed as an Accountant.
While numeracy matters, commercial acumen, clear communication and critical problem-solving are just as vital for career growth.
Automation and artificial intelligence will soon make Accountants obsolete.
Technology handles repetitive processing, increasing demand for human interpretation, strategic advisory and complex compliance oversight.
The honest take
Is this role right for you?
What to really expect from a career as an Accountant.
Around 38% of Accountant roles offer hybrid or remote working arrangements. Peak periods like month-end close or tax year-end demand extra focus, but flexible options remain common.
You will find satisfaction in solving intricate financial puzzles, uncovering operational efficiencies and providing clarity that helps executive leaders steer commercial decisions with complete confidence.
Starting as an Accounts Officer or Assistant Accountant, stepping into an Accountant role builds the strategic foundation to advance toward Financial Controller and Chief Financial Officer positions.
Every business requires rigorous financial governance and regulatory reporting. This ongoing legal and commercial necessity drives sustained, dependable demand for qualified Accountants across diverse industries.
Salaries scale with professional credentials like CA or CPA status. While entry wages reflect foundational duties, proven commercial expertise commands higher earnings above the $94,000 mark.
You can choose between public practice accounting and corporate finance teams. Each environment offers distinct challenges, from advising private clients to steering large enterprise budgets.
Employment Hero Job Data
These figures are drawn from real Accountant job listings posted on Employment Hero over the past 3 months, reflecting what employers are actually asking for right now, not a survey or self-reported estimate. Figures reflect the percentage of those listings that explicitly mention each criterion, last updated September 2026.
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